Obesity is a chronic disease that contributes to numerous, often life-threatening medical conditions, including serious metabolic and cardiovascular diseases. The prevalence of obesity has steadily increased over recent years among various racial and ethnic groups, reaching epidemic proportions in the United States. Presently, more than 100 million adults in the United States are considered medically overweight or obese, making obesity a serious economic/healthcare burden and a leading cause of morbidity and mortality.
Obesity is considered to be a major risk factor for developing insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes. Increasing clinical evidence indicates that type 2 diabetes and other metabolic disorders related to obesity can be controlled through substantial and sustained weight loss. While diet and exercise are important in controlling weight and promoting weight loss in obese individuals, anti-obesity drugs can assist in mitigating the high morbidity and mortality caused by obesity and its associated conditions, particularly in individuals for which diet and exercise are not viable options. However, most approved anti-obesity drugs to date are not sufficiently effective in most individuals and/or produce undesirable or dangerous side effects.
In view of the increasing prevalence of obesity in the United States and other countries around the world, and the current lack of effective therapeutic agents for its treatment or prevention, there is a significant need for the identification of additional drug targets for the development of new, safe and effective anti-obesity drugs.